Petr Velikiy (Peter the Great), the heavy nuclear-powered missile cruiser responsible for successfully escorting the first batch of Syrian chemical weapons out of the war-torn country, is Russia’s most powerful battleship and the flagship of the Northern Fleet. It is the only Russian watercraft with sufficient capability to thwart large-scale attacks by cruise and ballistic missiles. The warships of this type are designed to search for and engage enemy ballistic missile submarines, as well as large surface targets, and provide air and antisubmarine protection to naval forces.

+Emmitt Wynn You are simply narrow-minded, that's all. US Navy ships stopped close to Syria after russian missile cruiser arrived. You think US ships are great? Then why do US ships follow the Peter the great on safe distance all the time? Ever heard about Borei Class Submarine? If russian ships are junk then your ships are overprized toy and no match for a P-700 or P-800 anti-ship missiles.

+Dmitri T. Is it necessary to comment on the personal characteristics of another person posting here? Let's admire the strengths of all sides, as no side is perfectly offensive or defensive. U.S. ships follow at safe distances to avoid situations that may cause international incidents or worse. Russians ships do the same. Planes & submarines may play games, but ships are usually more circumspect in their actions.

+Tony O I'm the one who made the Rambo remark - and I stand by it. I did my time as an RO, Tony, on a projects boat. We had a liquid sodium boat in the fleet too, remember?.

The Alpha was a wonder of technology - technology so good that the NSA said you couldn't even do it for 2 years after the first one was active in the Russian fleet. A boat so good that it could not only outrun a Mark 48, but could dive deeper than a Mark 48. Did it have drawbacks? Yes! We lost boats to engineering errors too, you know.

There is so much I can't say, Tony, and you know why. I can say that those crews didn't design the boats they served on. Neither did we. They were serving their country - defending it - just like we were. Can't you give them a bit of credit?

I do not know if the Russians still operate the same way they did when we (it appears) were in, but conscripting people for 2 years of service isn't a good way to get exceptional performance. However, I still tend to separate the government from the people who faced the perils of the depths.